Field of the Art
The disclosure relates to the field of data visualization, and more particularly to the field of aggregating and visualizing user information and activities on an electronic device.
Discussion of the State of the Art
In mobile computing, there is a growing interest in aggregation of user activity and personal data, in what is termed the “quantified self”. Users increasingly want to be able to track or summarize their activities in software apps or social networks, as well as track fitness, health, or other personal data. Often, a user will use multiple products each with a separate “hub” or central summary that may integrate with some of their information, requiring the use of more than one service to adequately view all of their information. This creates confusion and duplicate data, and complicates the process of summarization, a primary intent of which is to make information convenient and accessible. Additionally, users often want to incorporate a social element to their data monitoring, such as to share data with contacts or find others for group activities such as games or fitness events. A further need when collecting and presenting large amounts of information, is the prioritization of information so that more immediately relevant or important information may be readily accessible.
Present information interfaces in the art generally rely on either a tile-based or list-based visual arrangement of information, which is suitable for presenting information in an ordered fashion but is inefficient overall. Such arrangements require a minimum amount of screen area to adequately present information while making the larger structure or direction of the interface clear. To view additional information, a user must interact with the interface to scroll, flip, or otherwise advance a display to view further tiles or list items. These requirements may cause complications as screens become smaller, for example in mobile smartphones or wearable electronics, where screen space is at a premium and an emphasis is placed on economizing presentation of information to a user.
What is needed is a means to aggregate data from a variety of sources including apps, health and fitness trackers, contacts, and social network accounts, and to visualize aggregated information in a manner that is easy to view and understand and that indicates information priority or importance.